By the Ocean
Cloudy 74 Degrees
4:18 a.m.
I used to think it was a problem when a prospect asked me, “how can I work with you?”
I used to think that meant I hadn’t been clear, that the solution that I put up on the shelf had been confusing. I thought that question was the sign of a serious breakdown in my marketing systems.
Eventually, I realized that a question like that is the point.
When a prospect is asking how he can buy, you did something RIGHT.
First of all, no one is paying attention to you or anything you have. So the fact you’ve had that service available for three years and people still act like they’ve never seen it is NORMAL HUMAN NATURE. They act that way because they are obsessed with themselves and not with you. This will never change.
My first business online selling oboe reeds, started back in 2002, made the bold move of being the first in the industry to guarantee our product (my wife made the reeds.) That meant, if you didn’t like them, you could send them back! This was unheard of and frankly, kind of a big deal. We put that guarantee everywhere. In all of our marketing. All over the website where people ordered.
For the next TWO YEARS, we got a steady stream of people asking, “if I don’t like these, what are my options?”
No one is paying attention to you until they are READY to pay attention.
Next, understand that if a prospect is asking you to buy, that is a sign that he puts more value on what you have than he does on the money in his pocket. This is good.
If a prospect is asking you to buy, that means he is moving towards the sale UNDER HIS OWN STEAM. You are not pushing. HE is pushing. This is also good.
If a prospect is asking you to buy, that means he is looking to be led to the resolution of the problem he seeks to solve. Only a fool (I’ve done it) would not happily assume that leadership role. If a prospect gives you the clues he is ready to be led, it’s a good idea to become that leader he expects. Weak leadership creates bizarre things. You don’t want that.
“How can I work with you?” is a question that your selling did its job in a way that preserved your role as an advisor. Prospects don’t ask car salesmen this question. They don’t ask insurance salesmen this question. They ask ADVISORS this question. When someone puts you in the role of the diagnoser and the prescriber, you are 80% of the way there.
Generating a situation like this is just one of the results of making your selling invisible. HOW to do that is the focus of the class on Wednesday, November 19. It’s not for most people. It takes too much strategy, too much patience, too much emotional maturity.
But if you’re in a business where you want to be THE advisor even while the sale is happening, that’s what we’ll be talking about.